6 clever ways to make an extra $600 this month

Make extra cash — who couldn't use a little extra money each month? I know an extra $600 would go a long way towards helping pay off student loans, having a girl's night out, a nice weekend getaway with the hubby, and more.

Luckily, there are so many ways to make money these days. The best part about it is that most of it can be done from the convenience of your own home. An extra $600 could help you get out of debt quicker, invest in business opportunities, save for retirement, and plenty of other countless ideas.

In this article, I've compiled a list of six different things you could do to bring in an extra $600. If you did all of them, you probably could make a whole lot more than $600 too. For example, I make way more than $600 alone with blogging.

So, let's get right into these. Here are 6 ways you can make an extra $600 this month.

1. Take surveys and get cash from online activities.

While you're binge watching your favorite show on Netflix, do a few money making activities. The payout is low, but just think about it – you're earning nothing by watching television or waiting at the doctor's office. Might as well put that time to good use to earn a few extra dollars because money is money!

If you do all of these, you will be on your way to an additional $600. A few good ones are:

When shopping use Ebates. It is an app and website with thousands of stores. You visit the site or app, select the store you want to visit and a tracking ticket is opened. Shop as you normally would and earn cash back. You can also earn $5 per referral for sharing with friends. Sign up for Ebates here.

Use Ibotta when grocery shopping. Ibotta is an app you download on your phone. When you go grocery shopping, check the app for your store. Select any products in the app that you may be purchasing and earn a rebate. You can also earn $5 for referring friends too. Sign up for Ibotta here.

Do some or all of these to maximize your income potential. Also, if you sign up for surveys, create a separate email address. There are plenty of surveys available and you don't want to become overwhelmed with a flood to your main inbox.

2. Sell stuff you don't need.

I always tease my mom that I should come to her house one weekend and host a garage sale. I'm pretty darn certain that I could easily make $800 or more dollars by selling her stuff. When she opens her living room closet, I'm amazed at the amount of stuff she has piled in there (and I'm sure she doesn't use it).

She's not alone though. All of us probably have a few things lying around the house that we don't use anymore. Start with one room and do a quick run through. If you have more than 5 items you don't use, that's 5 things you could sale for cold-hard cash. To get an idea of things you could sell, check out this post – 11 Extra Things to Sell to Make Extra Money.

3. Start a blog and Make Extra Cash.

Yep, I had to throw this one in here because blogging is my most lucrative side hustle to date. Just last month, I made over $1,500 blogging while at the same time last year, LAAB was earning zilch.

You won't make money immediately, but with a little time and patience, you can build an income-generating blog. Once you stop telling yourself that you can't earn money blogging and start doing the work – you'd be surprised at what you accomplish!

Go through the course and check out some of my other posts on blogging and with about six months of work or so, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to make extra cash (even if it's just with Google Adsense).

Some easy ways to score sponsored posts are through networking with other bloggers. This is the way I've scored ALL of my sponsored posts. Also, you can sign up with companies like Izea, Cooperatize, or Linquia.

If you're going to blog for money, I highly recommend you treat it like a business from the start. This requires a small upfront investment, but I promise you, it's possible to start a blog on a budget. If you don't have the investment money up front, do some of the other activities listed here to help you save the money.

Treating your blog seriously means starting your own self-hosted blog. I recommend Bluehost because that's the hosting provider that I use. I've heard good and bad things about them all. If you're starting out, Bluehost is one of the more affordable hosts.

4. Create an Ebook and sell it on SendOwl.

Creating an ebook is now easier than ever. All you need to do is create it using a word or google doc. Save your finished product as a pdf and you're good to go.

You can hire someone on Fiverr or Upwork to design a cover or you can do it yourself using Canva. I can easily whip up a cover in Illustrator or Photoshop, so I use those.

If there is a topic you know a lot about, start writing your ebook. It doesn't have to be as long as a book either. For example, if you have the magic trick for getting an almost two-year old to go potty anywhere other than the floor, I'm your customer!

So, stop telling yourself that you don't know anything and aren't capable of selling a product. Write your book about pottying (seriously, I need you) and start selling it on SendOwl. It's that easy. Plus, if you already have a blog, you might already have a market for the knowledge you're selling!

5. Proofread Documents.

If you're proficient with grammar, you could be a freelance proofreader. There are many different businesses that need proofreading. You could even proofread for court documenting purposes. I've interviewed a few proofreaders (article coming soon) and the average rate starting out is $17.00 per hour.

6. Become a Virtual Assistant.

Are you a type-A personality? Good with keeping your email at zero, staying organized, and all that good stuff? Well, you could provide virtual assistant services online.

That's right. You don't have to go into an office. You can do this right from the comfort of your own couch. Virtual Assistants make anywhere from $15 and up per hour. I know some from a few freelancer groups that charge $30 and up.

Common VA tasks are making business related calls, scheduling appointments, email management, creating images for blog posts, general proofreading, scheduling social media, etc.

Wrapping Thangs Up

The are so many ways to make extra cash and this list just scratches the surface. If you truly need (or want) to earn extra cash, choose something that feels right to you. Don't do anything that you're going to dread doing.

If any of these ideas sound right to you, I recommend you get started today! The quicker you start, the sooner you'll have the funds to help you get rid of your debt, finance your new home or a couple of vacations.

"Are you on a laptop all day? Would keeping an excel file or Google doc file help you track your expenses easier? Would it be more convenient to keep an old fashioned pen and paper type of budget? How about keeping a running tab on the fridge so that you are tracking all expenses?

"For the few that actually look at their goals again, it’s common to revisit them only at the end of the year. This is a crucial error. As our circumstances may change day to day and month to month, so will our goals. A lot can change in twelve months, which is why I propose reviewing once a month, or at the very least every three months.

Revisiting also keeps our desires relevant. It’s helps us remember that we even have them. Ideas aren’t enough, we must execute.

As the great Thomas Edison said, 'Vision without execution is hallucination.' " -Jiu-Jitsu Finance

Increasing your income

"After you have lowered your expenses, it is time to bring in more income. There are many ways to bring in more income especially during the holiday season. Maybe your full-time gig will let you work extra hours for overtime. In addition, retail stores typically hire for the holiday season. That part time holiday gig could turn into a longer gig...

Retail jobs aren't the only part-time jobs available. There are plenty of other side hustles you can pick up right at home to make extra money like: Freelance Writing, Virtual Assistant, Social Media Management." -Financially Fit & Fab

Turn on your automatic savings

"Another no-hassle way to save is by setting up an automatic transfer to your savings account. By automating your transfer, you're making sure that you don't forget or pay your savings last–and as a bonus–automating your savings means you never "see" that money and subsequently makes it sting a little less.

Two new apps that I am loving lately are Digit (which has a cult following). It automatically transfers money from your checking account you won't miss. I also love Qapital, which has rules you can set to "save the change" from your purchases. I saved over $75 my first month of Qapital, which was really astonishing to me. Click here to give it a try." -Financial Best Life

Develop the habit to spend with cash than card

"To spend with cash is also an actionable way to get out of debt. According to the research on peoples spending with credit cards; it was revealed that those who shop with credit card are impelled to spend more on luxury items because they feel they are paying with “play or fun money”. In other words, people who shop with credit card spends more than required.

Evidently, finance advisors hold a strong stand on this. They strongly advise that people who are working on eliminating their debt should cultivate the habit of spending cash, to avoid being tempted to spend on irrelevant items." -MoneyMiniBlog

Leave your wallet in the car when shopping

"This trick is simple but impactful. When doing any kind of shopping, use cash, and only take the amount of money you want to spend in the store with you. Leave all other cash, credit cards, and debit cards in the car.

This is very powerful, especially when grocery shopping. In addition to the amount you plan to spend, you can consider bringing in a small cushion of a few dollars (in case there are hiccups at the register). You will shop (and spend) completely differently when you only have a hundred dollar bill with you versus a hundred dollar bill and your debit and credit cards.

Don’t give yourself a way to spend more money than you want to — and you won’t." -Hope + Cents

Start and maintain an emergency fund

"There is no fixed formula for how much you should have in an emergency fund. Some school of thoughts say 6 months’ worth is sufficient, some say a year’s worth. Everyone’s situation is different and as such, each strategy should differ. To start however, I would suggest understanding your spending habits, and then implementing a 3-6-9 guideline.

3 Months: If you are single without kids, renting, no car, partially dependent on parents for income or any combination of these factors, start off with a target of 3 months’ worth of expenses for a rainy-day fund.

6 Months: Married, kids under 18, own a house or condo, own at least one car, or any of these combined, the base target should be 6 months’ worth of expenses (if married, base it off the income of the highest earner).

"The easiest way to prevent yourself from falling into the debt-trap is by living within or below your means (that is, not overspending). In addition, it is necessary to do research before getting credit cards (or signing any contract to take on loan/ debt) so that you really understand how it works. As a student, you must learn to treat your credit card with respect." -Investment Conversations

Build a budget and stick to it

"There are many free apps available to help you track expenses, but I always prefer using my own spreadsheets. That enables me to have the most control over what I’m doing. I understand that being able to access your spreadsheet on your phone makes tracking significantly easier, which is why I prefer Google Sheets over Excel. You can download the Google Sheets app and pull up your expense tracker wherever you are to input a transaction or monitor your spending. By combining the expense tracker as separate tabs within the same spreadsheet as the bill tracker, you can have all your finances in one easy-to-access location." -The Budget Boy

Create an automatic savings account for travel.

"Here's how this automated system specifically works for you and your travel fund. Once it's set up, it goes like this:

Know Your Interest Rates
If you have anything that you are making payments on every month, you need to know how much interest you're paying. Make sure you know these numbers, too. Ideally, you'll want to pay debts down that have a higher interest rate first. However, there is another school of thought out there that suggests paying the bill with the lowest balance first. I'd say either way is fine as long as you're making progress and as long as the higher interest rate stuff isn't astronomical.

Action: Look at your statements or call the companies to get your current interest rates on all monthly obligations.

Negotiate Lower Interest Rates
If, by chance, you ARE paying astronomical interest rates on any of your liabilities, call and try to negotiate a lower rate. Oftentimes, if you've demonstrated a history of paying on time, the company will work with you to reduce your rate. The only trick is, you have to ask.

Action: Know your numbers and call the companies to negotiate if you're paying high interest rates.